Of Winter Nights and Hot Chocolate
by HiddenWorldsOfWords
Summary: When Percy invites Annabeth in for a cup of hot chocolate after she appeared on his doorstep, they finally get to talk about certain things that have been bothering them both. Turns out the cup of hot chocolate isn't what Annabeth came for in the first place...


**Hey guys! I'm glad some of you have found their way to this Oneshot. It was actually supposed to be another songfic (I love writing them) but it turned out a little longer than I had initially planned for it to be, so it didn't fit anymore with the length of the song. Anyways, while I was writing, I listened to the song "Let's hurt tonight" by Onerepublic. That song was also what inspired me to write this in the first place!**

 _~Of Winter Nights and Hot Chocolate~_

Hesitantly, Percy opened the door. Outside stood Annabeth, covered in thick jackets that were probablytwice her size. Cold wind brushed Percy's face and out on the street in the dim light of a lamp post, he could see snowflakes soundlessly falling to the ice cold floor.

"Hey", he said.

Annabeth smiled softly, but her eyes resembled the ones of a confused child.

"Hi", she replied. She pointed behind herself. "Um, I was just passing by and I wanted.. I thought.." She stopped, leaving the other words unspoken.

For a moment, they both stood in uncomfortable silence, their breath throwing white clouds into the winter air.

Annabeth crossed her arms in front of her chest, shuddering visibly. She seemed uncertain of what to do next and so she just averted her gaze to stare at her feet.

Percy eventually made a step back, opening the door further. "Would you like to come in?"

Annabeth looked up, her cheeks flushed. In her grey eyes, Percy could see his reflection. The black-haired boy that looked as lost as she did.

She nodded after a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

Inside, she pulled off her boots and Percy helped her out of the three Jackets that she had put on to withstand the cold that seeped through thin clothes like ice water. Even in the relatively warm hallway, however, she still shook and rubbed her hands in an attempt to warm them up. Percy took pity on her and even though they weren't on the best of terms, he didn't want her to catch a cold.

"How about you stay for a cup of hot chocolate?" he asked. "If I remember this correctly, you adored my hot chocolate."

He didn't know where it came from, but something inside him just craved for one of their normal conversations again. One of their talks where he would say something stupid and she would scold him for it in her stubborn and know-it-all kind of way, and her voice that would take on that one special tone that she only used when she called him "seaweed brain" and everything would be like it always had been.

Annabeth seemed to recognize his invitation back to this kind of normalcy between them, so she just narrowed her eyes and replied "Humility is a virtue, Percy" in mocked arrogance. Even though she had still called him by his name, Percy felt as if a weight was lifted from his heart.

He shook his head and laughed softly, gesturing toward the living room.

"You can go ahead already. I'm gonna get that incredibly good hot chocolate."

Annabeth huffed in disagreement, but did as she was told and made her way to the living room, shoulders hunched. Percy kept his gaze on her until she disappeared behind the walls that separated their living room and the hallway. His heart clenched in desire to close his arms around her.

With another look, he shook his head lightly and made his way to the kitchen.

As he came in, Annabeth lay on the couch, a woolen blanket draped across her legs. She almost disappeared in her big sweater. Her head snapped up when she noticed Percy and she straightened a little, almost like she was internally preparing herself for something.

"I.. Um, I was just.. I thought you didn't need that blanket at the moment," she started, stuttering.

"It's fine", Percy quickly interrupted. He set down the two cups of steaming hot chocolate, its sweet smell filling the room immediately. He'd added some whipped cream because he knew how much Annabeth loved it like that.

"I really don't need it. Besides, you look as if you've walked through half of the state. You sure you're okay?"

Annabeth nodded, however drawing her elbows closer to her body. A move that made her look even smaller in her too-big sweater with its sleeves pulled down entirely to hide her hands in them.

"I came to talk to you," she said after a minute of silence.

Percy swallowed and sat next to her. "About what?"

"Everything." She inhaled audibly. "Us."

Percy's mind started racing with options of what she was about to say next. Unconsciously, he realized, he'd always waited for the moment when they would finally talk about everything that had changed between them. But now he wasn't so sure he knew how to talk about that sort of thing.

Dumbfounded, he leaned back. "What do you mean? Us?"

Contrary to what he had expected, Annabeth rolled her eyes, a shy grin spreading on her lips. "You really do look smarter than you are, seaweed brain."

Percy found himself more confused with every passing second.

Annabeth finally seemed to have made the decision to take matters into her own hands (much to Percy's approval), because she sat up and fixed her eyes on his. Percy couldn't help but feel exposed under her keen gaze, but he returned it, his heart hammering inside his ribcage like a trapped bird.

"So, I know we haven't exactly been.. On best terms lately," Annabeth started, "but I had hoped that maybe we could change that. You know, go back to normal."

She brushed a lost curl out of her face, her cheeks reddening as she spoke.

"I mean, I get it that after the fight you didn't feel like talking, and I'm sorry about what I said, but.. I miss you, Percy. I miss how things were before."

They sat in silence for a short while, both letting the just spoken words sink in.

Eventually, Percy grabbed Annabeths hand, closing his own around her fine fingers.

"Annabeth," he said, "I missed you too. Really, I did. And for so long I've been wondering how to talk to you about it and I've never had the courage to actually walk up to you and just apologize.."

He squeezed her hand and started smiling. "But that you're here now is just.. Wow."

Annabeth looked slightly taken aback, but returned his smile nevertheless. Even in the red light of chimney fire illuminating the living room, her grey eyes were sparkling with relief.

"Thank you", he added, his voice sincere. "Thanks for coming."

She cleared her throat.

"There is something else."

Percy shook his head, waving whatever it was she wanted to say off. "Annabeth, it's fine. Really."

"No, it's not about that. It's.."

"Annie, really", Percy interrupted again, laughing. "It's fine. Of course we can go back to normal. Hell, it's all I've been thinking about for the past few days."

This time, Annabeths voice had an edge to it. "That's great, Percy, really, but I need to talk to you about something else."

"What else is there to talk about?" He gestured widely around himself. "We're good. Everything's good, Annabeth. In fact, everything's better than it has been for weeks."

"Will you let me talk?"

"Talk about what?"

"If you'd let me, I could tell you!"

"Alright", Percy complied. "I just thought that after this we could just forget about this.."

"I am in love with you, you idiot", Annabeth exclaimed. The small flame that had ignited in her eyes was leaving them again and she looked down, visibly shrinking in herself. "I don't know how it happened, I don't know when. All I know is that all I can think about is how much I missed your laugh and your green eyes and your black hair that always smells like sea and wind and how badly I wanted to hear your voice again and how much I love you. I love you, Percy."

Her eyes met his again. He didn't know what to say. Of all of the options of things that she could've said, this wasn't one of them.

"But if you don't feel the same," she continued, "then just give it to me straight. I won't bother you again, I'll just go. Soo.."

She pressed her lips together and closed her eyes tightly, as if bracing herself to get slapped in the face.

Everything after that was a blur.

Suddenly, Percy's lips were pressed onto Annabeths, his hands brushing gently over her hair and back. He didn't know how it had happened or who had started it, all he knew was that he certainly didn't want it to stop. He sucked in her scent of lemon shampoo and vanilla, felt the soft skin of her neck and shoulder below his fingertips and heard her breath matching his own as she returned his kiss. A hunger ignited inside his chest, a hunger that he had never felt before. He wanted her. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore except for Annabeth in his arms, his beautiful, smart, brave, know-it-all, wise girl Annabeth. And in that moment, he knew.

"I love you", he breathed in between their kiss, his heart beating as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. "God, I love you." And he meant it.

He felt Annabeths soft lips spread into a smile and started planting gentle kisses onto her neck, down to her collar bones. Her hands ran through his hair, making it even messier than it already was. But he didn't care. In fact, he didn't care at all. All this time he had felt an emptiness in his chest, ever since the fight that had brought them apart for a while. Of course he'd known it was because he'd missed her as his best friend, but he'd never considered it to be because of something more. Now, however, it seemed hilariously obvious. Not only Annabeth had missed his voice and his smell and his laugh. Percy had not only once thought about how badly he wanted to talk to her and how much he really needed her.

Now he realized how much he really needed her.

They stopped for a short while, Percy pinning Annabeth down to the couch below them. Her golden curls were messy and her breath was fast. But her eyes.. A storm was dancing in them.

"So that means I can bother you again?" Annabeth breathed. She gently caressed one side of his face.

A soft laugh escaped Percy's lips. "Oh, Wise girl," he said, "you can bother me whenever you feel like it."

She started giggling, a playful childish giggle, and in that exact moment Percy wanted nothing more than this brief time to last forever.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, stroking one golden curl out of her face. She looked up at him hesitantly, as if he had said something that she needed to be ashamed of. Her lips were red and slightly parted. Percy leaned down again to kiss her, a slow, soft kiss this time.

Everything seemed to make sense now.

He loved her

God, he loved her.


End file.
